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Affluenza
Book

Affluenza

The All-Consuming Epidemic

John de Graaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor
Berrett-Koehler, 2001
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Sure, Affluenza is a polemic, but it’s a powerful one. Sure, some of the book’s more startling factual assertions are, on closer examination, somewhat distorted. But this is a call to arms, not a scholarly dissection. By depicting our consumer culture as a deadly epidemic, the authors provide a metaphor that simply and intuitively captures the fears and concerns of millions of people worldwide. While some conservative readers might scoff at a book that breathlessly states that life was better before the industrial revolution, getAbstract.com recommends this book as a valuable peek into the intellectual world of the anti-globalization left.

Summary

Affluenza: Causes and Symptoms

America, along with much of the industrialized world, is in the grip of an epidemic - affluenza. We can see its symptoms in the widespread emptiness that people feel, despite their accumulation of material goods. Affluenza has its roots in the nearly religious obsession with economic expansion that underlies the American dream. We must reject this materialism or pay a terrible price.

Shopping fever is the first symptom of affluenza. Since the end of World War II, Americans have been on history’s largest spending binge. Ancient cultures built cathedrals and temples; we build mega-malls. Our shopping spree has been financed by vast consumer debt, which has led to a flood of personal bankruptcies. Millions are having trouble paying bills and have no financial cushion. Our national savings rate is near zero. Our material expectations are higher than ever: bigger homes, SUV’s, cheap airfares, exotic foodstuffs. We "need" far more than previous generations. Yet many Americans are suffering possession overload - stress caused by having too much stuff. They feel that their lives are consumed with getting and maintaining material things instead...

About the Authors

John de Graaf is a longtime producer of PBS documentaries. He has been a visiting scholar at Evergreen State College and lecturer on documentary production at the University of Washington. David Wann worked for more than a decade as a policy analyst for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thomas Naylor has taught economics for more than 30 years at Duke University and is now Professor Emeritus of Economics there. His articles have appeared in the several major newspapers and he is the author or co-author of 30 books.

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